Calhoun Not Pleased With UConn's Big Men

— Jim Calhoun always manages to find a new way to describe what has become an old problem for theUConn men's basketball team.

Earlier this year, he called on Alex Oriakhi to be a "bully under the basket." He called for Andre Drummond to abandon "finesse."

After the Huskies' 70-67 loss to Cincinnati on Wednesday, the coach continued to try to drive and coax his big men to be more aggressive — and more consistent.

"Maybe I should have played [walk-on] Brandon Allen more minutes," Calhoun said. "At least he had the guts to go to the basket, and didn't look like he was going to fumble the ball."

Coming into the season, it appeared that UConn would enjoy a huge advantage up front, with 6-foot-10 Drummond joining 6-9 Oriakhi. At Big East media day, coaches spoke of the difficulty of matching up with Oriakhi and Charles Okwandu last season. This combination, Villanova's Jay Wright predicted, would be a "nightmare."

But after Wednesday's game, Calhoun again found himself saying the pound-it-inside game plan "didn't work out too well." UConn (14-4, 4-3 in the Big East), needs to figure it out soon, with top-ranked Syracuse (twice), Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette and Seton Hall on its February schedule.

"Andre Drummond, after three double-doubles in a row, just did not have a good game," Calhoun said on the Big East's weekly conference call Thursday. "Nor did Alex. We're still [one of the] youngest teams in the country. Although I keep telling the kids, there is no young team any longer, not with 12 games left to play. We lacked a little something that, quite frankly, Cincinnati had."

The issue defies a simple explanation, of course, or it would not have lasted 18 games into the season. In some cases, point guard Shabazz Napier has not recognized that the big men are open, or dribbled too long, until the shot clock wound down. In other cases, Oriakhi or Drummond have been unable to catch the ball, or unable to control it in traffic, or unable to hit shots in the paint.

Against the Bearcats, Oriakhi (1-for-7) and Drummond (2-for-9) were a combined 3-for-16, and most of those misses would normally classify as high-percentage shots. At other times, neither has seemed anxious to shoot, throwing an extra "one-foot" pass, as Calhoun has lamented more than once this season.

"Mostly, it's boxing out," said Cincinnati big-man Yancey Gates, who had 13 points and 12 rebounds. "You want to try to keep them out. They're so athletic and so big, and there are so many of them that are athletic and big coming at you."

In the first game of the season, when UConn was outrebounded by Columbia, Calhoun said his front-court players were accepting box-outs. At other times, he said the Huskies were out-worked on the boards. Cincinnati often plays four guards, a small, quick lineup that UConn expected to exploit with its big men, especially after Drummond and Oriakhi overmatched Notre Dame last Saturday. UConn had a 41-32 edge in rebounds, but only 10 second-chance points.

Boatright Update

Ryan Boatright told ESPN that he was to meet with NCAA investigators on Thursday. A source confirmed that Boatright was to speak with NCAA investigators, but not face to face. UConn spokesman Mike Enright said that the school would have no comment. Boatright has missed two games as the NCAA and UConn's compliance staff slowly complete their joint review of activities that took place during Boartright's AAU days in Chicago. Boatright tweeted to his teammates: "I hope I get [this] leash off my neck soon and be back down."